1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connecting device for high frequency, and more particular, to an electrical connecting device, such as a semiconductor inspection socket, for electric connection of a semiconductor device for communication of high frequency signals and a circuit board, the electrical connecting device unitizing an elastic member and contacts so as to enable readily adjusting a contact force of and a sliding magnitude of each of the contacts.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrical connecting device (referred below to as “semiconductor inspection socket”) for electric connection between electronic devices, between which a signal is communicated in high frequency, is conventionally known as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-050440 (1998). Because of communication of high frequency signals, the electrical connecting device is required to decrease a contact, which forms the electrical connecting device, in inductance and to improve an electrical connecting with electronic devices, such as a semiconductor device, a circuit board, etc., as contacted articles. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-050440 (1998) discloses a semiconductor inspection socket as an electrical connecting device including an elastic member supported on a holder, which forms a socket body, and a substantially Y-shaped contact supported on a socket body being a separate member from the holder and making a signal conductor line length short. The substantially Y-shaped contact of the semiconductor inspection socket comprises an upper contact piece extending obliquely upward and forward, a push piece extending obliquely upward and rearward, and a lower contact piece extending downwardly vertically from a portion, in which the upper contact piece and the push piece intersect each other. Also, an elastic member, which controls displacement magnitude and sliding magnitude of the contact, is arranged between the upper contact piece and the push piece. A tip-end contact portion of the upper contact piece of the contact contacts with a semiconductor device and the upper contact piece turns whereby the tip-end contact portion of the upper contact piece is displaced, and a tip-end contact portion of the lower contact piece contacts with a circuit board to be pushed upward whereby the tip-end contact portion of the lower contact piece is displaced. The respective tip-end contact portions of the upper and lower contact pieces are displaced whereby the elastic member is deformed and its reaction force acts as a contact pressure. Also, as the upper contact piece turns, the respective tip-end contact portions of the upper and lower contact pieces slide horizontally relative to external contacts of the corresponding semiconductor device and the corresponding circuit board to wipe the corresponding external contacts.
The electrical connecting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-050440 (1998) is constructed so that the contact is supported on the socket body only through the lower contact piece and the elastic member contacts with the upper contact piece and the push piece of the contact only from above. Accordingly, it is difficult to support a plurality of contacts steadily in posture before contact with contacted articles, and, in particular, it is difficult to steadily hold a position of the tip-end contact portion of the upper contact piece whereby contact between the tip-end contact portion of the upper contact piece and a semiconductor device as a contacted article is not stable.
Also, with such electrical connecting device, a semiconductor device and a circuit board as contacted articles may be changed in some cases. In accordance with such change, there is generated a need of changing, that is, adjusting a contact pressure between an upper contact piece and a semiconductor device as a contacted article, a contact pressure between a lower contact piece and a circuit board as a contacted article, sliding magnitudes (wiping magnitudes) of the upper contact piece and the lower contact piece, etc. However, in view of the construction of the conventional, electrical connecting device, it is difficult to independently adjust contact pressures between the contact pieces of the contact and contacted articles and sliding magnitudes of the contact pieces. That is, as described above, since the conventional, electrical connecting device is constructed so that the elastic member contacts with the upper contact piece and the push piece of the contact only from above, the elastic member acts simultaneously on displacements of the upper contact piece and the lower contact piece. Accordingly, for example, when a contact pressure between the tip-end contact portion of the upper contact piece and a contacted article is adjusted, there is a fear that a contact pressure between the tip-end contact portion of the lower contact piece and the contacted article changes and so a desired contact pressure cannot be obtained.
Further, in case of exchanging these contact and elastic member, the work of separately removing and separately mounting the contact and the elastic member is needed to make the exchanging work complex since the contact and the elastic member are separately supported.
In view of these problems, it is an object of the invention to provide an electrical connecting device, which is simple in construction, can hold a contact stably in posture, can readily adjust a contact pressure and a sliding magnitude, and in which exchange can be readily performed.